Tag Archives: Empathy

Jan 15

Today, as we formally observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Scarlet Says just one simple thing…spend just one day this week doing something selfless for someone else. The simple thing could be in the form of showing:

Forgiveness – an intentional and voluntary process by which someone undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense; letting go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well

Love – a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection

They’re free. They’re pleasant. They’re the right thing to do. Have a great week!

Dec 14

The holidays have surely been a fantastic time to get in touch and reconnect with friends.

This past weekend, I had a fantastic time catching up with girlfriends in my home town of Detroit. During our girls time catch up, we always engage in a series of serious questions surrounding annual reflection and our outlook and plans for the year ahead.

One of the resounding messages that I heard within our group was that people were going to focus on doing what makes them happy and not focusing too much on conforming to what people think they should be doing, how they should be looking or spending their time.

These types of messages and plans make me elated, because it’s important for you to be happy with yourself and to be the master of your own journey.

But, I started thinking about how this “do me” mentality can be self imploding if it’s not managed well. The reality of this “do me” mentality is that if you take it too far, you will quickly alienate the same people who you need in order to do whatever it is that you want to do.

Doing you shouldn’t mean forgetting about everybody else and their feelings, desires and wants. We don’t occupy earth alone, so at least being aware of and understanding that you, and you alone are not the only person to be concerned with is essential to personal growth and progress.

Imagine that your “do you” is starting a business, networking more, being more health conscious, obtaining a raise, traveling, starting a family or even spending time alone. Either directly or indirectly, these things require other people. Consider how much easier accomplishing your tasks would be if you had people to back you up and help you, simply because you considered them, their feelings and their goals.

Scarlet Says…whatever it is that you’re in pursuit of in the days, weeks, months and years to come, by all means do it! You deserve to be happy, accomplished and successful, but so does everyone else!